The new version of Microsoft Surface Book 2 is finally out now. It now comes in 2 sizes, the same old 13.5-inch, and a new 15-inch. The overall look of the new Surface Book 2 is almost the same as the original Surface Book, however, many things have changed inside.
The new Surface Book 2 now has a better hinge design reducing screen wobbling while you work on the lap and when you interact with the screen. One more interesting change is the Mini DisplayPort replacement with a USB Type-C 3.1 Gen-1 (no Thunderbolt 3 supported) for Video Out and Charging.
If you are in the market looking for a great laptop and struggling in choosing between a cheaper original Surface Book and the new Surface Book 2, here we have detailed specs comparison between both devices for you.
- Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Overall Technical Specs Comparison
- Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Intel Core i5 Processors Comparison
- Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Intel Core i7 Processors Comparison
- Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Integrated Graphics Comparison
- Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Discrete Graphics Comparison
1Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Overall Technical Specs Comparison
Key Features | ||
What's new |
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What's missing |
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Availability | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
Released | 2015 | 2017 |
Release Info |
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Pricing | Starting at 1,499$ |
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Surface Book Price | ||
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NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum By Microsoft
$1,099.00 |
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Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft
$329.00 $379.99 13% OFF |
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Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5"(Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB), silver By Microsoft
$629.99 |
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Surface Book 2 Price | ||
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Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5"(Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB), silver By Microsoft
$629.99 |
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Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft
$695.00 |
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Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft
$329.00 $379.99 13% OFF |
Display | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
Size | 13.5 Inches | |
Info |
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Exterior | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
Size Comparison | ||
Dimensions | 12.3” x 9.14” x 0.51”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 13 mm-23 mm) |
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Weight |
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Colors | Platinum | |
Keyboard and Trackpad |
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Ports |
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Internal Specs | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
Processor |
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Integrated Graphics |
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Discrete Graphics |
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Memory | 8GB 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM | |
Storage | 128GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD | 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
PCIe SSD |
Connectivity | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
Wi-Fi |
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Bluetooth |
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Battery | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
Size |
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Battery Life |
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Power Supply |
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Software | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
OS | Windows 10 Pro | Windows 10 Pro (Creators Update)
Free upgrade to Windows 11 |
Built-in Apps | Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial |
Camera & Audio | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
Camera |
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Audio |
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Misc | Surface Book | Surface Book 2 |
Inking | Supports Surface Pen
1024 levels of pressure
Magnetic storage
| Supports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
0.1mm precision
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Sensors |
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Security |
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In the box |
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Warranty | One-year limited hardware warranty | |
More | Supports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only. | Supports Surface Dial
Supports both on-screen and off-screen interaction. |
Surface Book Price | ||
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![]() |
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum By Microsoft
$1,099.00 |
|
![]() |
Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft
$329.00 $379.99 13% OFF |
|
![]() |
Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5"(Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB), silver By Microsoft
$629.99 |
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Surface Book 2 Price | ||
![]() |
Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5"(Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB), silver By Microsoft
$629.99 |
|
![]() |
Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft
$695.00 |
|
![]() |
Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft
$329.00 $379.99 13% OFF |
Popular Comparisons for Surface Book
Here are the most frequently requested comparisons for Surface Book:
Popular Comparisons for Surface Book 2
Here are the most frequently requested comparisons for Surface Book 2:
2Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Intel Core i5 Processors Comparison
The new Surface Book 2 now only has one configuration that comes with Intel Core i5 and Microsoft still uses the 7-Gen chip for that configuration while Intel Core i7 using 8-Gen chip. However, it still a better upgrade for the 6-Gen chip available in the original Book.
Processor | 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U | 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U |
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Launch Date | Q3'2015 | Q1'2017 |
Base Frequency | 2.40 GHz | 2.60 GHz |
Max Turbo Frequency | 3.00 GHz | 3.50 GHz |
TDP | 15 watt | |
Level 1 Cache | 128 KB | |
Level 2 Cache | 512 KB | |
Level 3 Cache | 3 MB SmartCache | |
# of Cores | 2 | |
# of Threads | 4 | |
Bus Speed | 4 GT/s OPI | |
Max Memory Support | 32 GB | |
Max Memory Bandwidth | 34.1 GB/s | |
GEEKBENCH 4 | ||
Single-Core Score | 3,374 | 3,967 |
Multi-Core Score | 6,431 | 7,736 |
3Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Intel Core i7 Processors Comparison
The 8-Gen Intel Core i7 inside the new Surface Book 2 is a significant performance boost over the 6-Gen Intel Core i7 in the original Surface Book. It now has real 4 cores and 8 threads that significantly improve performance for professional-grade applications and high-end gaming titles.
Processor | 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6600U | 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U |
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Launch Date | Q3'2015 | Q3'2017 |
Base Frequency | 2.60 GHz | 1.90 GHz |
Max Turbo Frequency | 3.40 GHz | 4.20 GHz |
TDP | 15 watt | |
Level 1 Cache | 128 KB | |
Level 2 Cache | 512 KB | |
Level 3 Cache | 4 MB SmartCache | 8 MB SmartCache |
# of Cores | 2 | 4 |
# of Threads | 4 | 8 |
Bus Speed | 4 GT/s OPI | |
Max Memory Support | 32 GB | |
Max Memory Bandwidth | 34.1 GB/s | |
GEEKBENCH 4 | ||
Single-Core Score | 3,672 | 4,956 |
Multi-Core Score | 7,147 | 14,377 |
4Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Integrated Graphics Comparison
As most Surface Book models are coming with discrete graphics, in terms of processors selection Microsoft didn’t focus much on integrated graphics selection. All models are all using general Intel HD graphics instead of Intel Iris or Iris Plus graphics found on Apple MacBook Pro.
Processor | 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U/i7-6600U | 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U | 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U |
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Graphics | Intel® HD Graphics 520 | Intel® HD Graphics 620 | Intel® UHD Graphics 620 |
Base Frequency | 300 MHz | 300 MHz | 300 MHz |
Max Dynamic Frequency | i5-6300U 1.00 GHz i7-6600U 1.05 GHz | 1.10 GHz | 1.15 GHz |
Graphics Max Memory | 32 GB | ||
Graphics 4K Support | Yes, at 60Hz | ||
Graphics DirectX | 12 | ||
Graphics OpenGL | 4.4 | ||
# Display Supported | 3 | ||
Graphics Technologies | Quick Sync Video Clear Video HD Technology Clear Video Technology InTru™ 3D Technology | Quick Sync Video Clear Video HD Technology Clear Video Technology InTru™ 3D Technology | Quick Sync Video Clear Video HD Technology Clear Video Technology InTru™ 3D Technology |
5Surface Book 2 vs Surface Book – Discrete Graphics Comparison
The new Surface Book 2 finally comes with the latest and VR-Ready discrete graphics GeForce GTX 10 Series. With the GeForce GTX 1060, The new Surface Book 2 is now able to play most high-end games at 1080p at 60 fps. It also makes Surface Book 2 is the first Surface PC that able to use Windows Mixed Reality Ulta.
GPU | GFEFORCE GPU | GEFORCE GTX 965M | GEFORCE GTX 1050 | GEFORCE GTX 1060 |
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Architecture | Maxwell | Pascal | ||
Memory Size | 1 GB GDDR5 | 2 GB GDDR5 | 2 GB GDDR5 | 6 GB GDDR5 |
GPU Engine Specs | ||||
NVIDIA CUDA® Cores | 384 | 1024 | 640 | 1280 |
Base Clock (MHz) | 954 MHz | 935 MHz | 1354 MHz | 1506 MHz |
Boost Clock (MHz) | 993 MHz | 1150 MHz | 1455 MHz | 1708 MHz |
Memory Specs | ||||
Memory Speed | 5012 MHz | 5000 MHz | 7000 MHz | 8000 MHz |
Memory Interface Width | 64-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit | 192-bit |
Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec) | 40 GB/s | 80 GB/s | 112 GB/s | 192 GB/s |
Technology Support | ||||
Technologies | PhysX CUDA GeForce Experience |
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Optimus™ Support | G-SYNC -Ready GameStream -Ready Optimus™ Support BatteryBoost™ SLI® Ready | G-SYNC -Ready GameStream -Ready Simultaneous Multi-Projection VR Ready Ansel SLI® Ready Vulkan API | G-SYNC -Ready GameStream -Ready Simultaneous Multi-Projection VR Ready Ansel SLI® Ready Vulkan API |
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NVIDIA GPU Boost | 2.0 | 3.0 | ||
Microsoft DirectX | 12 API with feature level 11_0 | 12 API with feature level 12_1 | ||
OpenGL | 4.5 | |||
Bus Support | PCIe 3.0 |
Conclusion
The new Surface Book 2 is a big jump in performance compared to the original Surface Book. If you can manage a budget to afford the Surface Book 2, that’s is no doubt that it is a great choice. However, if you are tight on the budget, the original Surface Book is still the best laptop for its price and features.
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